1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of quickly making decorative floral arrangements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The following nine patents and published patent applications are the closest prior art known to the inventor.
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,144,932 issued to Valerio J. Zerbo, Jr. on Aug. 18, 1964 for “Do-It-Yourself Floral Arrangement Kits” (hereafter the “Zerbo Patent”);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 3,243,895 issued to Leroy M. Girard on Apr. 5, 1966 for “Kit for Making Floral Arrangements” (hereafter the “Griard Patent”);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,612 issued to Robert G. Litwin et al. on Jul. 15, 1986 for “Coordinated Floral Arrangement Assembly System and Method” (hereafter the “Litwin Patent”);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,950 issued to Ellen M. Corbert on Aug. 19, 1986 for “Method and Assembling a Floral Arrangement” (hereafter the “Corbert Patent”);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,308 issued to William R. Meyers on Sep. 26, 1995 for “Method and System of Floral Arrangement” (hereafter the “Meyers Patent”);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,733,612 issued to Richard Michael Garry on Mar. 31, 1998 for “Flower Arrangement Set” (hereafter the “Garry Patent”);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,827 issued to Joanne T. Wise et al. on Dec. 29, 1998 for “Arranger, Crown, And Pattern for Arrangements of Decorative Items” (hereafter the “Wise Patent”);
8. United States Published Patent Application No. 2005/0074728 to Mary Dark et al. on Apr. 7, 2005 for “Floral Arranging Teaching Aids and Method of Use” (hereafter the “Dark Published Patent Application”);
9. U.S. Pat. No. 7,562,492 issued to Elaine Mueller on Jul. 21, 2009 for “Device and Method for Arranging Flowers” (hereafter the “Mueller Patent”).
The Zerbo Patent discloses a do-it-yourself floral arrangement kit. The utilizes making floral arrangements using artificial flowers.
The Girard Patent discloses a kit for making floral arrangements. This embodies the concept of arranging flowers by a numbering pattern. However the flowers are artificial flowers and the numbers are placed upon pieces of paper that can be converted to a vertical section and horizontal section of the artificial flower arrangement.
The Litwin Patent discloses the concept of having a styrofoam base with a multiplicity of different artificial flowers which, as shown in FIG. 1, have a number such as 5 marked on the stem of the artificial flower and then there is a styrofoam base which is placed into a retaining body such as a flower pot and then the styrofoam is placed in the flower pot with numbers and the styrofoam matching the number on the stem on the flower so that the person can take the artificial flower with the number on the stem and insert the stem into the styrofoam at the location of the same number so that an arrangement of artificial flowers is created.
The Corbert Patent discloses a method for assembling a floral arrangement. The preferred embodiment includes base having an upper surface which includes a pre-designed pattern of holes adapted to receive the flowers or decorative stalks as described below.
The Myers Patent discloses a method and system of floral arrangement. Specifically, the patent discloses:                “A floral arrangement system for assembling, preparing and arranging pre-selected floral materials into a pre-selected floral arrangement includes a pattern system which includes a material list for instructing a user on obtaining pre-selected floral materials; a tool list for instructing the user on assembling tools to be used with the system; an integrated measurement means for measuring pre-selected floral materials to pre-selected lengths; an instruction means for instructing the user on preparing and arranging the materials into the preselected floral arrangement; and at least one placement pattern including pre-selected floral graphic placement pattern symbols showing the placement of each floral material.”        
Therefore, this is primarily artificial flowers and it is not necessarily a designation where the flowers should be placed by numbers but instead is a designation showing how the flowers should be arranged based upon a floral picture provided with the kit for arranging the flowers into a floral arrangement.
The Garry Patent deals with artificial flowers, not live flowers. The arrangement comes with a placement template as shown which basically indicates how flowers or stems of artificial flowers should be inserted into a retaining member. The flowers are placed in a mounting block as shown in FIG. 1 and then there is a template shown in FIG. 3 which has tabs on either side which is placed over the mounting block with numbers on the tabs and corresponding numbers are on the stems of the flowers so they can be inserted into the mounting block.
The Wise Patent discloses an arranger, crown, and pattern for arrangements of decorative items. In this case, there is a retention block 26 with what the inventor called a “crown” which essentially is a member 20 that is inserted over the retention member so that a multiplicity of openings is on the crown. Flowers are then inserted based on the numbering pattern in a multiplicity of openings.
The Dark Published Patent Application discloses a floral arrangement teaching aids and methods of use. The relevant portion of the patent application is the figures which show that different types of shapes have numbering systems where flowers can be inserted. The object is to teach someone how to arrange a floral arrangement in an attractive manner.
The Mueller Patent discloses a device and method for arranging flowers. The patent discloses:                “A device and method 10 for arranging flowers include a flower chart 12 for determining stem lengths for primary and secondary flower 14 and 16, a flower holder 18 for securing end portions 20 of stems 22 of the primary and secondary flowers 14 and 16, and a stem template 24 for marking portions of the flower holder 18 such that the disposition of each primary and secondary flower 14 and 16 in a flower arrangement 26, is predetermined by inserting an end portion 20 of a stem 22 of each primary and secondary flower 14 and 16 into a cooperating marked portion of the flower holder 18.”        